Theophrastus was a Greek Peripatetic philosopher and a disciple of Aristotle. He studied under Aristotle in Athens, and succeeded him as head of the Lyceum, the academy founded by Aristotle, in 323 B.C. Under his leadership, enrollment in the Lyceum reached its highest point. Although he wrote extensively on many subjects, few of his works remain. He wrote major treatises dealing with plants, and smaller treatises on fire, winds, signs of weather, scents, and sensations have also been attributed to him.

Because Theophrastus wrote extensively on the nature of plants, he is sometimes called the father of botany. It has been estimated that he wrote about 200 botanical treatises, but only a few Latin translations of the original Greek manuscripts survive. In De causis plantarum and De historia plantarum he presented his understanding of the morphology, classification and natural history of plants. His treatises were the principle source for...